Citizen scientists and budding environmentalists can now report sightings of birds, butterflies, and other migrating species from the field to the Journey North network using their iPhone or iPad. The new app provides tools including maps, a geographic locator, and a function to record and send field notes. App users can take and send photos of their quarry using their camera phone. By reporting sightings of migrating species, the app user becomes part of a network of more than 900,000 K-12 students who contribute data as they track the season’s advance northward. An Android version of Journey North mobile is currently in production and will be announced shortly. download the free app

Journey North, the nation’s premiere citizen science project for children, is a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change. Participants (including the general public) share observations of animals and changes in the ecosystem. The data feeds into the resource-rich Journey North Web site, which features migration maps dating back to 1997, images and photos of wildlife, video, standards-based lesson plans, classroom activities, and information from scientists about specific species and the seasons. Journey North is a winner of the Webby award as a best educational site.

Journey North is presented by Annenberg Learner and can be accessed through its Web site. Annenberg Learner is a division of the Annenberg Foundation. FlickerLabs is the developer of the Journey North apps.

Journey North Interviews

Saturday, March 24, 2012, Elizabeth Howard got a chance to tell listeners of The Animal House on WAMU 88.5 about the Journey North citizen scientist program! Read the audio transcript of the interview here: Journey North on The Animal House.

Elizabeth Howard was also interviewed by Vermont Public Radio on April 2. You can hear the interview and read about using Journey North in the classroom from the VPR site.

Check out the Journey North Web site for information about how to get your students involved in tracking animal migrations and the arrival of spring.